The women of comics barely ever get their due. Last year’s Womanthology HC (which we just got a restock on last week), a giant collection of stories written and drawn by only women, was a huge success both as a Kickstarter project and as published through IDW, so a sequel was in order. Womanthology: Space is a five issue miniseries, containing three stories an issue, based around the concept of “space” in all its various definitions. Packed full of artwork, in both written and drawn forms, this series is a one-of-a-kind showcase of female comic talent of all experience levels and a wonderful example for any young woman hoping to break into the business some day.

If you’ve had dreams about Star Trek mixing with Back to the Future, those dreams have just come true. No, there’s not actually a Star Trek/Back to the Future crossover, but Star Trek the Next Generation: Hive is the closest you will ever come. Written by Brannon Braga, former TNG producer and writer, this four issue miniseries has the Next Gen crew jumping into a future where the Borg have overtaken the entire galaxy; they are its only hope. IDW has been kicking butt with their current Star Trek ongoing title as well as their Doctor Who/Star Trek crossover, so I expect great things from this series.

Ed Brubaker has written the main Captain America book for around eight years now (soon to be replaced by Rick Remender), and in those eight years he has turned Bucky Barnes into one of the most fascinating characters in the Marvel Universe. So, couple his love of Barnes (aka the Winter Soldier) with his absolute talent for crafting espionage stories and you have the extremely enjoyable Winter Soldier v.1 trade paperback. In this first volume of the highly under rated series, Bucky and the Black Widow team-up to uncover what happened to the other brainwashed soldiers who went through the process that turned Barnes into the Winter Soldier. Expressively illustrated by Butch Guice, Winter Soldier is a dark, gritty, mysterious compelling spy movie spread across the comic page. And it has gorillas with machine guns.

To end the evening, I pose to you one question.

Why open your own beer when you can acquire a herald to do it for you?

Yes, the second half of the Avatar the Last Airbender miniseries, The Promise, ships this Wednesday. I now expect overjoyed pandemonium to ensue.

If you haven’t picked up part 1 (which we still have, by the way), this story takes place after the end of the mega-popular cartoon series. Now that Ang and Zuko have brought peace to the world, they are trying to keep it. Zuko has a more difficult time with this than Ang, pitting the two against each other once more. This time, however, Zuko has made Ang promise that he will kill him if he ever begins to resemble his father’s fascistic ways. The writing strikes a perfect similar note to the show, feeling just like another episode, while the artwork apes the cartoon’s visuals identically. A must own for any Avatar fan.

Continuing in alphabetical order, a new set of Avengers action figures comes out this Wednesday, straight from the most popular movie of all time, ever, ’till infinity and beyond. Yup, snag four of the core Avengers (Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, and the Hulk) in one go my picking up these four piece set. Each figure stands at eight inches and is fully poseable. Now you can recreate all the Shawarma-eating-action of the film!

If you missed out on Batman Noel last year and are kicking yourself because of that fact, give your butt a rest and make it in to pick up the newest stand-alone Batman graphic novel, Batman: Death by Design. Borrowing certain thematic elements of the recent Night of the Owlsrun in Batman, Death by Design focuses on the history of Gotham and the buildings that have told its story. Bad part of that is some of these buildings are blowing up. Thus, Batman has to put on his detective cap and solve the case.

Finally, tonight, a crossover that’s been in the cards for decades, but seemed totally unlikely to happen is actually coming to fruition. After fifty years, Doctor Who and Star Trek are finally crossing over this coming Wednesday. When the Cybermen and Borg join forces to do evil things to the timey wimey-ness of the universe, the Doctor and the Next Gen crew must join together to kick some adaptive butt. With beautiful painted artwork and a solid writing team, this is a nerd event not to be missed.

Tonight you’re all getting a two-fer, the chocolate and peanut butter, the Bert and Ernie, the Penn and Teller of Comic List Highlights. Because not only are you receiving highlights of comics, but games, too (mostly because we didn’t have time to write a post last night).

To start things off, lets recite the oath: In brightest day, in blackest night… Yup, the first hardcover collection of the New 52 Green Lantern comes out Wednesday. Easily one of the best ongoing series of the relaunch, Green Lantern has focused more on Sinestro than regular protagonist Hal Jordan, which has enlivened the book. And the reason for the shift in hero is due to Sinestro being allowed to wield the ring again, while Hal cools his jets on Earth. Until, that is, Sinestro comes a’knockin’. Geoff Johns has been writing some of the best Green Lantern stories ever since he got on the book around eight years ago, but this new volume offers a perfect jumping on point for anyone who’s wanted to read up on the character.

Keeping the superhero/comic base at a boil, but mixing in a smidge of gaming, next up is the second volume of Mutants and MastermindsDC Adventures: Heroes & Villains. As the first volume contained all characters ranging from A to K, this second edition picks up with L and runs it all the way to Z. That means you’re going to get classic characters like Lex Luthor, Superman, and Plastic Man, plus icon teams like the Justice League and the Secret Six. Offering gamers a shortcut into the DC Universe, these volumes contain all the stats, histories, and information you’ll need to BAM BIFF POW your way through the DCU.

Re-releasing in a new swanky graphic novel collection is BOOM Studio‘s 7 Psychopaths. A greater hook has never been created: what do you do when you want to kill Hitler and end WWII? Send in seven of the worst human beings ever to hunt down and murder the bastich. Of course, not everything always goes as planned. A grim, gritty spy series with artwork from exceptional Criminal and Incognito artist, Sean Phillips, 7 Psychopaths makes for a great, moody read.

As deck building games boldly go where no game has gone before they reach the Star Trek the Next Generation game. Using the base premise of deck building developed in games like Ascension, Dominion, and Resident Evil, Star Trek puts players into the role of a star ship captain, commanding their meager crew toward victory. Do you recruit further crewmen? Develop your ship’s equipment? Conquer worlds or make peace with them? These are the choices you will need to make in either the base version of the game or its Next Phase expansion. Both are stand alone and both go boldly yadda yadda blah blah.

Tonight’s going to begin with a bit of List-o-Mania (Any Phoenix fans out there?). There’s such an abundance of new, exciting comics coming out this Wednesday that we’ve had to condense them into a easily digestible list.

-Age of Apocalypse: Building on the Uncanny X-Force story from last year, this new ongoing will follow the continued resistance against Apocalypse and his Weapon X goons in this beloved alternate Marvel reality.
-Beyond the Fringe: Collecting new short stories which take place in the universe of popular television show Fringe, this new miniseries will be written by series regular Joshua Jackson.
-Fairest: Focusing on key female characters from the Fables universe, this new series will chronicle their lost adventures. And it’s written by Fables writer and creator, Bill Willingham.
-Hell Yeah: Award winner, Joe Keatinge, pens a violent, edgy take on the superhero world. The spawn of the world’s first super people are working overtime to maintain the world their parents left behind.
-The Manhattan Projects: Johnathon Hickman (Nightly News, Fantastic Four, Secret Warriors) releases his newest Indy series. The minds behind the atomic bomb may have cooked up something even worse…and we’re going to find out what.
-Superbia: Combining romance and superhero books, this four issue miniseries reads like the Desperate Housewives of the cape & cowl sect, focusing on the significant others of the world’s most famous heroes.

Okay, how long did that take?

Oh, you don’t have a watch? Here, borrow the Doctor‘s. This replica of the 10th Doctor‘s timepiece, seen in the Human Nature/Family of Blood two parter, comes fully detailed with Gallifreyan engravings, lights, and a real metal chain. Complete your Doctor Who ensemble with this unique piece of memorabilia.

Speaking of Doctor Who memorabilia, you won’t want to….DELETE DELETE! ALL HUMANS WILL BEND TO THEIR MASTER’S WILL AND BUY THE CYBERMEN CHARACTER BUILDING SET! FIVE CYBERMEN ARE INCLUDED! PURCHASE NOW BEFORE DELETION!

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